For many organizations and startups, 2023 was a rough year financially, with companies struggling to raise money and others making cuts to survive. Ransomware and extortion gangs, on the other hand, had a record-breaking year in earnings, if recent reports are anything to go by. It’s hardly surprising when you look at the state of … Read more
To give AI-focused women academics and others their well-deserved — and overdue — time in the spotlight, TechCrunch is launching a series of interviews focusing on remarkable women who’ve contributed to the AI revolution. We’ll publish several pieces throughout the year as the AI boom continues, highlighting key work that often goes unrecognized. Read more … Read more
A mom punished her 7-year-old for getting in trouble at school by making him walk home, then she ran him over in the process, Alabama police said. Now, a 27-year-old woman has been charged with aggravated child abuse, according to Marshall County jail records. McClatchy News is not identifying the woman to protect the identity … Read more
Meghan Markle has praised the creators of her and Prince Harry‘s newly launched website, Sussex.com. The former actress said the creators were a “very special company” with a “thoughtful approach to design.” It came after sources close to the royal house said the rebrand violated promises the Sussexes made to the late Queen Elizabeth II upon … Read more
Airbnb is slowly killing the cleaning fee as it aims for more transparent pricing. Since early last year, when the company started showing guests all-inclusive pricing when booking a property, almost 300,000 listings have removed or lowered cleaning fees, Airbnb said in its earnings report today. Now, nearly 40% of active listings no longer charge … Read more
This tax season, the IRS said it’s adding staff and technology to “reverse the historic low audit rates” on high-income taxpayers. Filing season can already be a stressful time for many people, between having to navigate countless forms and compiling all of the correct information. The looming threat of an audit can ratchet up the stress of … Read more
CAIRO — Israel and Hamas are making progress toward a deal that aims to bring about a cease-fire and free hostages held in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, according to two officials with direct knowledge of the talks, as key meetings continue Tuesday between the sides in the Egyptian capital. Talks are moving forward even after … Read more
If you needed more evidence that GenAI is prone to making stuff up, Google’s Gemini chatbot, formerly Bard, thinks that the 2024 Super Bowl already happened. It even has the (fictional) statistics to back it up. Per a Reddit thread, Gemini, powered by Google’s GenAI models of the same name, is answering questions about Super … Read more
A Chinese flag next to a printed circuit board with semiconductor chips. Florence Lo | Reuters China’s biggest chipmaker SMIC seems to have been manufacturing advanced chips in the last few months — defying U.S. sanctions designed to slow down Beijing’s progress. But there are still some major challenges to China’s bid to become more … Read more
Ahead of the highly anticipated Super Bowl 2024 matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers, Adele has come forward to defend Taylor Swift against detractors who are having issues with her attending football games. The music icon attributed Swift’s presence to enhancing the National Football League (NFL) viewing experience, saying she … Read more